As a generation that believes in experiences over material pleasures, millennials have made the travel bug such a cool thing that our wandering & exploring ancestors would surely be proud. Previously seen as loners or social outcasts, solo travellers are the toast of time these days and while the trend of solo travel was largely a male bastion till a while ago, women solo travellers aren’t an uncommon sight these days. No matter how you look at it, solo travel is a fascinating construct and an experience that establishes a deep connect with both oneself and one’s surroundings. And it might just be the best thing for every woman to do… Well at least once!
1. It is extremely liberating
Women’s liberation might be a far cry from reality, but a trip with just yourself is certainly a liberating experience. Somewhere in the clamour of jobs, families, and the never ending social pressures of life as a woman, a solo trip is just what a woman needs to free herself from everyday life. Sure, it is easy to take a day off from work or just shut yourself away in a room to have some peace and quiet but traveling solo helps you leave your life behind for a few days and with no one familiar around, there’s no possibility of discussing life or the issues it brings along.
2. It makes you value your life back home even more
Not that we aren’t thankful for everything and everyone we have in our lives but going away for a bit alone just makes you realize the importance of everything you have in your life back at home. From the office colleagues that you help you carry your coffee mug when you have too many files in your hand to the friends and family who get on your nerves often but stand by your side at all times, going away just makes you realize how much everything you have means to you, and it only helps you appreciate those people even more.
3. Teaches you a strong lesson in independence
Navigating through city streets in a new country all alone or being bold enough to try an unknown cuisine at a local market might not sound like a daunting task when you think of it, but it can be quite intimidating when you’re surrounded by strangers. And then there are things like managing your trip expenses, ticking off itineraries, and of course making conversations with strangers that end up becoming friends forever. Traveling alone gives you the confidence that you can hold your own in unfamiliar territory and take away something meaningful from an otherwise stressful situation. That’s a mighty lesson in independence that will surely help you throughout your life.
4. You learn to appreciate the bigger picture
With no familiar company as such, solo travel pretty much leaves you at the mercy of the place you travel to. But that’s where you move beyond your perceptions and familiar zones and learn to appreciate a place for what it really is, with its good and bad included, and somewhere in the chaos of existing in a completely new situation you learn to see the bigger picture and the real essence of where you are now. That’s a pretty important lesson to learn in life, isn’t it!
5. You get to know yourself better
We often live our lives based on how others perceive us. Whether that is at work, at home, or in our social circles, and that gets more overbearing especially as a woman. When you travel alone you only have yourself for company and there’s nobody to take your tantrums or mood swings in their stride. Besides whatever you do there is nobody to judge you, and that’s as daunting as it is
empowering. In a nutshell, you learn more about yourself from your own self and that kind of first hand feedback can only come from a solo trip.
So ladies, packed your bags yet? It’s time to head out on that solo trip!
